Common genres: fiction

 Classic – fiction that has become part of an accepted literary canon, widely taught in schools
 Crime/detective – fiction about a crime, how the criminal gets caught, and the repercussions of
the crime
 Fable – legendary, supernatural tale demonstrating a useful truth
 Fairy tale – story about fairies or other magical creatures
 Fan fiction – fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series,
movie, or book
 Fantasy – fiction witsubplot(s), theme(s), major and minor characters, in which the narrative is
presented in verse form (usually free verse)
 Fiction narrative – literary works whose content is produced by the imagination and is not
necessarily based on fact
 Folklore – the songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or "folk" as handed down by
word of mouth
 Historical fiction – story with fictional characters and events in an historical setting
 Horror – fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread and sometimes fear in both the
characters and the reader
 Humor – Usually a fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain and sometimes
cause intended laughter; but can be contained in all genres
 Legend – story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, that has a basis in fact but also includes
imaginative material
 Magical realism – story where magical or unreal elements play a natural part in an otherwise
realistic environment
 Meta fiction (also known as romantic irony in the context of Romantic works of literature) –
uses self-reference to draw attention to itself as a work of art while exposing the "truth" of a story
 Mystery – this is fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets
 Mythology – legend or traditional narrative, often based in part on historical events, that
reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions
of the gods
 Mythopoeia – fiction in which characters from religious mythology, traditional myths, folklore
and/or history are recast into a re-imagined realm created by the author
 Picture book – picture storybook is a book with very little words and a lot of pictures, picture
stories are usually for children
 Realistic fiction – story that is true to life
 Science fiction – story based on the impact of actual, imagined, or potential science, usually
set in the future or on other planets
 Short story – fiction of such brevity that it supports no subplots
 Suspense/thriller – fiction about harm about to befall a person or group and the attempts made
to evade the harm
 Tall tale – humorous story with blatant exaggerations, such as swaggering heroes who do the
impossible with nonchalance
Common Genres: Non Fiction

 Biography  – narrative of a person's life; when the author is also the subject, this is
an autobiography.
 Essay  – a short literary composition that reflects the author's outlook or point.
 Owner's manual (also Instruction manual, User's guide)  – an instructional book or booklet that
is supplied with consumer products such as vehicles, home appliances, firearms, toys and
computer peripherals
 Journalism – reporting on news and current events
 Lab Report  – a report of an experiment
 Memoir  – factual story that focuses on a significant relationship between the writer and a
person, place, or object; reads like a short novel
 Narrative nonfiction/personal narrative  – factual information about a significant event
presented in a format which tells a story
 Reference book  – such as a dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, almanac, or atlas
 Self-help book  – information with the intention of instructing readers on solving personal
problems.
 Speech  – public address or discourse
 Textbook  – authoritative and detailed factual description of a topic.